Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 4, 1 ʻApelila 2014 — Time for unity, time to move forword [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Time for unity, time to move forword

A loha from Kaua'i and /\ Ni'ihau!

AM a h a 1 o this month to everyone who joined us at our OHA Open House at our new home at Nā Lama Kukui, the former Gentry Pacific Design Center, in Iwilei. It was a proud moment for OHA to have our own hale to weleome beneficiaries, partners, friends, tenants and community members. Recently, the OHA Trustees voted 8-0 to commit to serving as facilitator, in collaboration

with other Native Hawaiian organizations, over a process of Hawaiian nation-building that may lead to the creation of a governing entity. More information is available online at oha.org/nationbuilding, and I encourage you to read more about it for yourself. Keep in mind this is the closest we have eome to rebuilding our nation. This process and its results must reflect the will of the Hawaiian people to succeed. The direction and outcome of this process will be determined by those who are registered. The Roll is being kept open for a limited time to give additional time for those who have yet to sign up. OHA's commitment is not just about Kana'iolowalu, whieh is considered the first step in this process. Rather, it is about everything that comes after, or could eome after if we are organized, unified and ready to move forward. This is no small matter to me. From very early on, I had concerns about the amount of funding and the way in whieh those funds were being used for Kana'iolowalu. I also felt more could and should have been done to outreach to and include the mana'o of more independenceminded groups. While these concerns still remain on my mind to this day, I am adamant in my commitment to what comes after Kana'iolowalu, building and rebuilding a Hawaiian nation. These concerns are still

on the minds of many others who have expressed their

views to me. But the fact is, Kana'iolowalu, flawed as it may be, is the vehicle we have at this time to organize the Hawaiian eommunity. I choose to look beyond my issues with Kana'iolowalu and instead look toward the momentous opportunity that is before us as Hawaiians to restore our nation and in the process restore our people. Siting at the board table, it was eye-

opening to hear Hawaiian leaders who onee opposed passage of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act (or the "Akaka bill"), now fully supporting OHA's facilitator role and these next steps. Taking a eue from what many others have been advocating, in short, it is time for us as Hawaiians to move forward. We ean disagree on the details; in fact, some disagreement is a good thing and ensures a wide range of views are expressed and considered. But we cannot disagree on doing what is right and what is best for the Hawaiian community. And the time for us to do it, for us to organize as a community and for us to participate as individuals, is now. Our Hawaiian beneficiaries have waited long enough and deserve our steadfast commitment and strong support. Finally, here's a shout-out to Kevin Chang and KUA (Kua'āina Ulu 'Auamo), formerly the Hawai'i Community Stewardship Network. Their kōkua was instrumental in getting the Trustees to pass "A Resolution Supporting Community Based Subsistence Fishing Area Designations and Rules," whieh I had the honor of introducing after seeing some of the great work being done in Hā'ena on Kaua'i to advance a CBSFA. Mahalo nui loa ! ■

Dan Ahuna

TrustEE, Kaua'i and Ni'ihau